Instructions

ZOOM IN by clicking on the page. A slider will appear, allowing you to adjust your zoom level. Return to the original size by clicking on the page again.

MOVE the page around when zoomed in by dragging it.

ADJUST the zoom using the slider on the top right.

ZOOM OUT by clicking on the zoomed-in page.

SEARCH by entering text in the search field and click on "In This Issue" or "All Issues" to search the current issue or the archive of back issues
respectively.
.

PRINT by clicking on thumbnails to select pages, and then press the
print button.

SHARE this publication and page.

ROTATE PAGE allows you to turn pages 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.Click on the page to return to the original orientation. To zoom in on a rotated page, return the page to its original orientation, zoom in, and
then rotate it again.

CONTENTS displays a table of sections with thumbnails and descriptions.

ALL PAGES displays thumbnails of every page in the issue. Click on
a page to jump.

076 VIRGIN AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2016
T
HERE’S NOWHERE ELSE in the South
Pacifc quite like Rarotonga. It’s all wild
green mountains tumbling down into big
blue lagoons, rather like Steven
Spielberg’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Oddly, though, it has always passed
under the radar of most Australian
travellers — 300,000 of you will visit Fiji
this year, but fewer than 20,000 will
make it to Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands. All the
better for those who do decide to visit, I say.
I was born here four decades ago and, at its heart, Raro (as
every local knows it) hasn’t changed a bit. There are still more
chooks and pigs on the roads than cars and even in Rarotonga’s
capital, Avarua, there are no high-rise blocks — no building is
allowed to be taller than the highest coconut tree, it’s the law.
Seriously. And you won’t fnd a single trafc light, either. But
don’t go thinking that Raro’s backward, or lacks sophistication in
the way of entertainment and dining options. In fact, Raro is
home to the best bars in the whole Pacifc, and quite a few of its
most atmospheric restaurants.
Most locals and visitors get about on mopeds. The speed
limit makes it safe enough (a maximum of 50 kilometres per
hour or 40 without a helmet), and it’s the best transportation on
the island by far because it’ll
let you get into nooks and
crannies no tourist operator
treads. Hiring a moped will
cost you about $28 a day
through Polynesian Rental
Cars & Bikes. One of those
nooks and crannies is the
MEET YOUR
GUIDE
Craig Tansley was born
and raised on Rarotonga,
attending Avatea Primary
School in bare feet and
learning Cook Islands
dancing (which he has
now, sadly, forgotten). He
didn’t wear his frst pair
of shoes until he was
eight. His father has lived
on Rarotonga for 50 years
and his uncle was once
Prime Minister. Although
he moved to Australia
while still a child, he
returns each year to the
frst home he ever knew.
ancient Ara Metua inland road (it’s about
100 metres in from the coast road), where
you’ll fnd no trafc, just subsistence
farmers tending their taro plantations and
feeding fresh coconuts to their pigs.
Rarotonga might be just 67 square
kilometres, but each year, and after 20
visits, I fnd a new road to a valley I’ve
never seen before to lose myself in.
Should you prefer to catch a bus, just
wait for the one that goes clockwise
around Raro. Then mix it up by riding
the anti-clockwise service — whichever
direction you take it, the journey won’t
last longer than 40 minutes.
Plan your days around being in the
west-coast district of Arorangi — my
childhood home — for sunset. As a kid I
learnt to swim in the calm waters of
V0816_TRAV Cook islands.indd 76
8/07/2016 8:58:56 AM